Water softener valve



c. A. STICKNEY LWATER SOFTENERIVALVE Original Filed May 28, 1928 Sept.20, m2.

Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES A. STICKNEY,DECEASED, LATE 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, BY JAMES G. TE'ILOW, OF ROCKFORD,ILLINOIS, ADMINISTRATOR, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASfiIGNMENTS, TO THEPERMUTIT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE WATERSOFTENER VALVE Original application filed May 28, 1928, Serial No.281,008. Divided and this appllcatiohdlled March 1,

1929. Serial This invention relates to water softeners of to beingcostly, made the operation of a softener more or less of a perplexingproposition to the average mechanically unskillled person. The valve isherein disclosed as a plied to a double or .plural flow softener, whichis covered in the parent application,

' above referred to, but it will be understood that the same is notlimited to use with this or any other particular type or kind ofsoftener.

The invention is hereinafter fully described with reference tov theaccompanyin drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a central vertical sectionthrough asoftener equipped with a valve made in accordance with thisinvention, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail through the valve taken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a hand operated softener.but it should be understood that it is not limited to such applicationinasmuch as suitable mechanism might be employed in connection with thevalve for the operation thereof to be automatically orsemi-automatically controlled, as desired.

The softener, the details of which are covered in the parentapplication, comprises a 1 tank 5 of any ordinary or preferredconstruction containing a bed 6 of zeolite mineral or otherbase-exchange water softening mate-- rial, the present invention as willpresently appear permitting the use of mineral of a very fine texturebecause of the elimination of all screens, etc, for distributingpurposes, thus making for much greater capacity in a unit of a givensize. The tank, as shown, has a dished bottom '2' welded orotherwisesuitably secured to the side walls of the tank chambers throughthe, opening 20 defined bv the lower end of the partitionwall 17.

as represented at 8, the bottom being set-in so that the sidewallsprovide an enclosed base 9. The top 10 is suitably dome-shaped, weldedor otherwise suitably secured to the side walls of the tank at 11, andhas a'neck 12 weld ed in place at the center thereof. This neck providesa filler opening for the introduction of the mineral-at the time ofassembling, it being possible with a softener of the present improvedconstruction to ship the softener with the mineral therein-ready for iuse. The neck 12 is closed by a ca clamped in place by the tightening othe screw 14 in the-yoke 15 swingably mounted on the neck at 16.v Thecap 13 is quickly re movable for the purpose of dumping in the salt orbrine when the softener is to be regenerated.

In accordance with the parent application,

the tank 5 is provided with a partition 17 of frusto-conical form. Thiswall is fastened inside the tank at its large'end as by welding at thepoint 11. The small end pene-' trates the bed 6 to a point slightlyabovethe bottom thereof, as shown, thus providing ga central chamber 18separated from an annular or circumferential chamber 19 except for thecommunication afforded between the valve mechanism designated generallyby the reference numeral 21 is arranged to control communication betweenthe chambers 18 and 19 and service pipe 22, supply pipe 23, and

waste pipe 24, the communication being established at a single point onthe tank through a nipple 25 .The nipple has the open inner end 26thereof in communicatiomwith the chamber 18 and has openings 27 in thewall thereof establishing communication with the chamber 19. I In normalsoftening operation, hard water supplied through the pipe 23 is directedby the valve mechanism 21 through the ports 27 into the chamber 19 abovethe bed of water softening material. This hard water passes downwardlythrough the depth of material in-the chamber 19 and 'at the lower endthereof reverses in direction and passes upwardly through the opening 20through the depth of material in the cham- A no her 18 and out throughthe open end 26 of the nipple to the Service pipe 22. The double flowthrough the bed insures perfect softening so long as the mineral of thebed is not exhausted. The disposition of the inlet and outlet for thewater above the mineral bed makes it unnecessary to provide the waterdistributing and straining means used in all other softeners so far as Iam aware. It will be observed that the cross section of the passagewayafforded in the two chambars by reason of the form of the partition wall17 is of gradually increasing area from the point where the water firstenters the bed to the point where it emerges therefrom. Thus thepassageway widens from the point a to the point 6 and from the point 0to the point d, the. opening 20 being preferably of such a size that itsarea is approximately equal to the area of the annular opening definedbetween the lower end of the partition wall 17 and the'wall of the tank.That is, the area of the passageway at the point 5, for all practicalpurposes, may be regarded as about equal to that at the point 0, thethought being to provide a passageway of gradually increasing area fromthe point a to the point d. This widening of the passageway moredefinitely insures the spread ing out of the water in passing throughthe bed and the water is thereby prevented from channelling through thebed and is caused to come into intimate contact with the mineral at allpoints. Perfect softening of the water is therefore insured.

The valve mechanism 21, constituting the subject matter of thisapplication, is so designed that the operations thereof in regencratingthe softener are rendered extremely simple and will not necessitateextensive directions for the guidance of the user. It comprises a singlecasing 28 having a single shiftable valve element 29 therein operable bya handle 30 on the stem 31. The casing 28 has integral therewith aportion 32 arranged to thread in the nipple 25 and provided with twopassages 33 and 34, the former of which is normally the outlet forsoftened water and the latter of which is normally the inlet for hardwater, the one being in communication with the chamber 18 and the otherwith the chamber 19 by way of the opening 26 and ports 27, respectively.Three valve ports 35, 36 and 37 are provided in coaxially spacedrelation in the casing 28, the port serving normally to establishcommunication between the service pipe 22 and a the outlet passage 33,while the port 37 serves The latter disc has a tapered tip 41 arrangedto close a waste opening 42 of restricted size provided in a plug 13,into which the waste pipe 24, above referred to, is threaded. The valvestem 31 is held against endwise movement in a stuffing box 4st providedon the easing 28 and has the inner end thereof threaded, as shown, tocooperate with a threaded opening in the valve disc 38, to the end thatwhen the handle 30 is turned, suitably as directed by means of arrows orthe like on the upper face thereof, the valve element 29 will be movedup and down in the valve casing from the full lineposition shown to thedotted line position indicated. A screw 46 has a plain tip 47 enteringbetween two of the ribs 40 to hold the valve element 29 against turningso that the-valve stem 31 may thread therein properly.

In the softening operation, the valve 21 has the shiftable valve element29 thereof disposed in the full line position illustrated. Hard watersupplied through the pipe 23 passes the valve element at the port 37 andflows through the passa 'eway 345 and ports 27 into the chamber 19. ftcrpassing downwardly and upwardly through the bed for softening, the waterleaves the chamber 18 thrgugh the passage 33 and is discharged throughthe port 35, into the service pipe 22. The waste pipe 24 meanwhile isout of communication with the tank by reason of the closing of the wasteopening 42-by the tapered tip 41 of the lower valve disc 39. After acapacity run of softening when the mineral requires regeneration,the'valve is operated by turning the handle 30 to raise the valveelement 29 to an intermediate position where the disc 38 still closesthe port 36 and the disc '39 closes the port 37. It will be evident thatthe supply pipe 23 is thereby thrown out of communication with the tankand the waste pipe 21 is at the same time placed in com munication withthe passage Now, when the cap 13 is removed for the dumping in of saltor brine, there will be drainage of water from the tank through thewaste pipe until the level in the tank is as low as the upper end of thepassage 34, the waste pipe 2-1 being so arranged (not shown in thedrawing) that any siphoning action is prevented. After the salt or brineis in the tank, the latter is sealed by replacement of the cap 13. Thenif it should be desired to draw water while the regeneration is carriedon, the valve element 29 may be shifted slightly higher to a stillfurther intermediate position where the port 37 is still closed but theport 36 is opened, thus placing the supply pipe 23 in communication withthe service pipe 22. In that way hard water may be drawn. However, thismethod of opera tion must not be practiced as a general rule but thevalve may be shifted to the dotted line position indicated so as toclose the port 35 along with the port 37 and open the port 36 along withthe waste opening 42. In either of the last mentioned two positions ofthe valve the supply pipe 23 is of course in communication v. ith thepassage 33 through the port 36, hence the salt or brine in the. chamber18 will be washed down through the bed and upwardly thercthrough and thewaste water will be exhausted through the ports 27, the passage 34 andthe waste opening 42 into the waste pipe 24:. The waste opening 4-2, itwill be observed, is of a sufficiently restricted size to confine thesalt wash to such a rate of flow that the brine will have ampleopportunity to make a complete chemical exchange with the mineral of thebed thoroughly to revive the latter. Following the regeneration thevalve 21 will be shifted again back to its normal softening position. Ifdesired-the hard water contained in the chamber 18 above the bed ofzeolite at the end of the regeneration may then be flushed out by simplyopening a faucet in the service line near the softener, as for examplein a laundry tub. Flushing in this way for a few minutes will eliminateany foreign matter from the softener and keep it out of the servicesystem.

What is claimed is:

l. A water softener valve mechanism comprising a casing having twopassages provided therein, one of which serves normally as an inlet fora softener tank, and the other of which serves normally as an outlettherefor said casing also having a waste opening, there being supply andservice pipes arranged to communicate with the inlet and outletpassages, and a waste pipe-communicating with the waste opening, and asingle shiftable valve element in said casing normally occupying oneextreme position wherein the waste opening is closed thereby and whereinthe supply pipe communicates with the inlet passage and the service pipecommunicates with the outlet passage, said valve element being arrangedto be shifted to the opposite extreme position wherein the supply pipeis placed in communication with the erstwhile outlet passage and theerstwhile inlet passage is placed in communication with the wasteopening, whereby to reverse the direction of flow through the softenertank and to discharge into the waste pipe, and the service pipe is atthe same time isolated from communication with both passages, and thesaid valve element being arranged to occupy an intermediate positionwherein the supply pipe is placed directly in communication with theservice pipe and at the same time with the one passage, the otherpassage being in communication with the Waste opening.

2. A water softener valve mechanism comprising a casing having twopassages provided therein, one of which serves normally as an inlet fora softener tank, and .the other of which serves normally as an outlettherefor, said casing also having a waste openertswhile outlet passageand the ertswhile inlet passage is placed in communication with thewaste opening, whereby to reverse the direction of flow through thsoftener. tank and to discharge into the wa" ipe, and the service pipeis at the same time isolated from communication; with both pas-" sages,and the said valve element being ar ranged to occupy either one of twointermediate positions: one wherein the supply pipe is isolated fromcommunication with both passages, and the other wherein the sup plypipeis placed directly in communication with the service pipe and at thesame time "with the second named passage, the first named passage beingin communication with the Waste opening. p

3. A water softener valve comprising a casing having two passagesprovided therein,

one of which serves normally as an inlet for a softener tank and theother as an outlet therefor, there being a supply pipe and a servicepipe arranged to communicate with said passages, said casing havingthree valv ports therein disposed in coaxial alignment,

and a single shiftable valve element in said;

casing having two valve disks in coaxial alignment and arranged to beshifted together in relation tothe three valve ports, the same beingarranged in one position of the valve element to close the middle portand leave the two end ports open, one end port of the three serving thento establish communication normally between the supply pipe and theinlet passage and the other end port of the three serving then toestablish communication between the service pipe and the outlet passage,the disks of said valve element being arranged in another position toclose the-two end ports and leave the middle port open, the middle portthen serving to establish communication between the supply pipe and theerstwhile outlet passage, there be ing a waste pipe communicating withsaid casing, and the other passage in the latter position of the valveelement being arranged to communicate with and discharge into the 1waste pipe.

4. A valve as set forth in claim 3 wherein the valve element isshiftable to another position wherein the middle port and one end portare closed whereby to isolate the supply pipe.

6. A water softener valve comprising a casing having coaxially alignedvalve ports provided therein, a valve element slidably received in saidcasing for movement through and between said ports, said valve elementcomprising a plurality of valve disks disposed in axially spacedrelation for cooperation with said ports and connected by ribs extendingbetween the disks and parallel to the axis thereof, a rotatable valvestem mounted in said casing without freedom for endwise movement havinga threaded inner end threading in at least one of the valve disks of thevalve element, means on the casing projecting between said ribs forholding said valve element being against turning with ref erence to saidcasing, and means for turning the valve stem whereby to communicateendwise movement tothe valve element.

7. A valve as set forth in claim 6 wherein pipes are arranged tocommunicate with the casing between and adjacent the valve ports,

and including another pipe communicating with said casing at one endthereof in line with the valve ports, said valve element having the enddisk thereof arranged to seal the opening for the last mentioned pipe ina certain position of the valve element.

8. A water softener valve comprising a casin g having three coaXiallyaligned and spaced valve ports provided therein, a valve stem projectingthrough one end of said casing through one end port, a valve elementc0nnected therewith for operation thereby and having two coaxiallyaligned and spaced valve disks shiftable through and between the othertwo ports toward and away from the end port referred to, there being apipe communicating with the casing between the middle port and the otherend. port and another pipe communicating with the casing above the firstmentioned end port, said casing having two passages provided therein,one of which communicates with the space between the first mentioned endport and the middle port, and the other of which estab-' lishescommunication with the space below the other end port, and there being apipe communicating with the casing below the last mentioned end port.

9. A valve as set forth in claim 8 wherein the valve disks of the valveelement are joined bv longitudinally extending spaced ribs suitably castintegral therewith, and wherein the valve stem has threaded connectionwith the upper valve disk, there being a pin or the equivalent mountedin said casing and extending between two of the ribs to hold the valveelement against turning while permitting endwise movement thereof.

10. A valve of the character described comprising a casing having twopassages providcd therein, there being a supply pipe and a dischargepipe arranged to communicate with said passages, said casing havingthree va'lve ports therein in coaxial alignment and in vertically spacedrelation, the supply pipe being'connectcd with the casing above thebottom port and the discharge pipe being connected with the casing abovethe top port one of the passages in the casing leading to a point belowthe bottom port and the other passage in the casing leading to a pointbea low the top port, and a single shiftable valve element in saidcasing having two valve disks in coaxial alignment and arranged to beshifted together in relation to the three valve ports, the same beingarranged in one position of the valve element to close the middle portand leave the top and bottom ports open, the bottom port serving then toestablish communication between the supply pipe and the first namedpassage and the top port serving then to establish communication betweenthe other passage and the discharge pipe, the disks of said valveelement being arranged in another position to close the top and bottomports and leave the middle port open, the middle port then serving toestablish communication between the supply pipe and the last mentionedpassage, there being a waste pipe communicating with said casing and theother passage in the latter position of the valve element being arrangedto communicate with the waste pipe.

11. A valve as set forth in claim 10 wherein the valve element isshiftable to another posinature.

JAMES G. TETLOW, Administrator of the Estate of Charles A.

Sticlmey, Deceased.

